I Am Not Worried...About The Ranking

On Sunday, as I was hoping that somehow everyone favorite statutory rapist Matt Leinart would get into the game against Miami, Georgia's football team ended up dropping again after a win in the polls.  I tried to remember if this has ever happened this early in the season.  I couldn't recall.  I couldn't recall a time where the #1 team drops to #2 after a win.  This week it was from #2 to #3 after #1 USC rolled OSU (over-rated) and then #3 Oklahoma won by 41 to leap frog Georgia.  What did Georgia do this past weekend?  They played their first conference game in South Carolina and won 14-7.  Sure, it was not a stellar game in which they scored 40 points and won by four touchdowns.  It was an ugly win.  Still, it was a win.  In conference against a team that beat them last year on the road on national TV.  Las Vegas expected Georgia to win by seven.  They won by seven.  They just did not get any style points.  In the world of the internet, insipid blogs (like this one), and style over substance teams have to win by huge numbers to get the votes.  And it works.  It worked for USC in the first week and it worked for Oklahoma in week 3.  Georgia got style points in week 2 and they kept their ranking.  I have always been a firm believer that you should not lose your ranking if you keep winning.  Keep winning and you keep your ranking.  However, the rest of the world is in the same hot tub with Leinart and Tony Romo drinking Zimas through a bong.  It does not matter if you just win.  It's not enough.  You have to go Grand Theft Auto on a team and get noticed and you get the credit.  

In the end, am I really worried about being #3 in mid-September?

No.  I am not.  It does not matter if Georgia is #3 now.  It matters whether or not they will be #2 or #1 in mid-December.  So now, I am not worried about where Georgia is ranked.

What am I worried about besides whether Bank of America and Microsoft end up owning every company in the US in the next week or that Ron Mexico will get out of prison and his rights still being owned by the Falcons?   

I am worried about the schedule.   Georgia's schedule.  I knew going into the season that the schedule was going to be very tough.  Tougher than Jessica Simpson's face after taking off her make-up.  Tonight I looked at it again.  And almost dropped my Frosted Flakes mixed with Coors Light on the floor.   This is what I saw:

9/20   at Arizona State

9/27    vs #9 Alabama

10/11   vs  Tennessee

10/18   vs  Vanderbilt

10/25   at  #6 LSU

11/1    vs  #4 Florida (in Jacksonville, armpit of the world)

11/8    at Kentucky

11/15  at #10 Auburn

11/29  vs  Georgia Tech

There is no easy game on the schedule.  Every team is capable of being Georgia on any given afternoon.  But FOUR top ten teams?   Three in less than a month?  LSU, Florida, and Auburn all being road games?  What happens if Georgia wins the SEC East?  Well, probably another game against a top ten school (Auburn, Alabama, and LSU are all SEC West teams).   Georgia may not win any style points against this run of killer squads with killer talent, but at least they will have earned their wins.  They will have played the toughest schedule in the country.  The only schools that compare to this schedule...are other SEC schools.  USC's highest ranked opponent on their schedule from here out is ranked #17 and there are no other ranked teams on the docket.  They even get to play the two best teams in the state of Washington--Washington State (0-3) and Washington (0-3).  Oklahoma has three teams ranked in the top 20 left on their schedule, but all at home.  If Georgia survives with one loss then their ranking should take care of itself.   Winning against a schedule playing five games against top ten teams (if one includes the SEC title game) with only one loss should guarantee them a shot at the BCS title.  In this case, winning will take care of their ranking.  Once strength of schedule is factored into the mix there is no contest....Georgia just can't lose to trap games to Vanderbilt or Tennessee (again).

Now, you will need to excuse me I need to drive to my step-daughter's school (now owned by Bank of America), using my car (owned by Bank of America), and come back to my house (owned by Exxon/Mobile a new subsidiary of Bank of America).